Men who mentor make a difference, Tim Bailey finds

One-on-one mentoring forges confidence

Although he would never say it about himself, when Tim Bailey speaks, kids listen.

Leadership and challenging yourself are two of the themes that pop up regularly when he has lunch with six Chaffin Students of the Month.

Even though he and his wive have four adored children - three who are or are near junior high age - Bailey said he wondered what he would talk about with students at the luncheons.

"Why do you think they selected you?" he said he asked them. They may be high achievers but he decided to challenge them to do more.

Bailey took the challenge the Chaffin partnership team launched this year - to become a mentor to an individual student. He could have passed and remained a popular partner. His business, Candy Craze at Central Mall, is able to donate every child's dream prize.

But he signed up to mentor boys in a program called The Edge. "These are kids who could go either way," he said. They had as much good potential as possible negative influences.

After discovering his assigned student had a personal goal to enlist in the Marines, Bailey helped his young friend chart a path to that goal. Together, they reasoned he would have to stay fit, make good grades and maintain good character.

Bailey has been thrilled to watch that student's personal growth. A picture of the two of them stands on his desk, alongside family photos.

"None of us knew what to do," he said of the men who became new mentors. "But when I look around the library and see those men and students bonding, I think we're doing pretty well."